Mature, capable, experienced, animal lover!

About this sitter

Hi, my name is Josie and I am a very experienced house sitter having sat more than 40 houses over the last 16 years.

I am Scottish but have lived in Australia for over 25 years. Having done house sitting in Australia and being recently retired with a longing to come home to Scotland, I decided to come back and try house sitting here. I am a fit, healthy and adventurous 67 year old and have spent the last couple of years based in Edinburgh and house sitting across the northern hemisphere.

Over Christmas I looked after three dogs in a remote house in St Lucia for 6 weeks which was a wonderful experience. I have also sat in USA, Finland, Hugary, Caribbean, Spain and would you believe, Kazakhstan.

I am very good with animals and volunteer at a wildlife rescue organisation. I have mainly looked after dogs and cats but also llamas, ducks, hens, sheep, fish, horses, birds.... the list goes on. I like looking after dogs as it means lots of walks and walking without a dog (or two) is just not the same. As you can tell I have had dogs and cats at home most of my life.

My background is a business consultant and I ran my own business for 20 years, consequently I know the importance of reliability or my clients would have gone elsewhere.

I also own my own house so know how important looking after a home is and have experience in doing so. In later years I moved to an 8 acre property in the country which I maintain and keep as fire proof as possible.

Why they want to house sit

I love experiencing new places but don't like being a tourist. I like to live in a place and get to know it, experience what it is like to live there – I would rather get to know one place well than visit 10 briefly. I also miss having animals around so house / pet sitting is ideal. I much prefer staying in homes and self-catering rather than in hotels or the like.

Their experience

After 16 years and over 40 houses I am very experienced. I have cared for a wide range of animals. I have also owned my own home so know how to deal with issues that arise.

Many of those I house sit for are "regulars", that is they ask me back each time they go away and in Australia my house sitting was all by referral from current home owners. After a few months house sitting in Scotland I found the same thing happened so I will be going back to those places again!

What can they bring to the assignment

I bring a wide range of experiences from the couple whom I house sit for regularly who have five retrievers (which I walk twice a day) and three cats, to the large properties with llamas and sheep, to city houses which need to be kept immaculate and free from animal hair.

I always speak to the owners first to ensure I understand their needs and take lots of notes so I don't forget anything. I leave the house clean and refreshed ready for your return.

I can provide a number of references as I use a number of web sites and often friends and family of the people I sit for ask me to sit for them. I am usually flexible with dates. Other points are, non smoking, have a driver's license, and a gardener.
I am happy to talk with you so you can ask any questions you may have.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Josie